'Jurassic World': Indominus Rex Abilities & Origin Explained

Fourteen years after viewers last journeyed to a Jurassic Park movie, Steven Spielberg's de-extinct dinosaurs are back on the big screen in Jurassic World. However, unlike the rescue mission adventures depicted in Jurassic Park's original two sequels, the latest entry in the franchise presents a world that moved past InGen's prior failures - and, under the guiding hand of Masrani Global, has realized John Hammond's original vision: a fully-functional and innovative dinosaur park.

Yet, while Jurassic World continues to profit, a cloned T-rex simply isn't as impressive to a generation of kids that have never known a world without dinosaurs - and, in order to keep park attendees coming back, Jurassic World introduces a new, high-profile, attraction every few years. The parallels between Jurassic World, the fictional park, and Jurassic World, a fresh entry in a dormant Hollywood franchise, are hard to ignore. Enticing visitors back (to Isla Nublar and the box office) meant creating something entirely original, rather than digging into the historic record for a dino-star. The answer? A hybrid creature: Indominus rex (Fierce/Untamable King).

Trailers for Jurassic World have made it clear that, like the T-rex, Velociraptors, and Spinosaurus before, InGen's scientists overreached when they cooked-up Indominus rex - and the same lack of humility that demolished the original Jurassic Park threatens to destroy its successor. Yet, even after seeing Jurassic World, viewers might still be a little confused about how the hybrid dinosaur fits into the expanding mythology of Jurassic Park - as well as curious about the various animals that gave Indominus rex its deadly range of abilities. For that reason, we’re here to help breakdown the origins of Indominus rex - as well as the real reason for its creation.

Our discussion is going to be full of SPOILERS for Jurassic World, so READ NO FURTHER unless you’re all caught up. You have been warned.

Why did Masrani Global create Indominus rex?

As mentioned, while cloned dinosaurs might have impressed children of the 1990s, in the Jurassic World universe, many kids have grown up with the ability to see their favorite dinosaurs in the flesh, at Masrani's Isla Nublar dinosaur zoo/theme park. As a result, de-extinction itself isn't enough to entice return visitors back to Jurassic World on a regular basis. For many attendees, the initial magic has worn off.

To keep park attendance (and revenue) up, Masrani invested millions in the creation of new "attractions" - including the Jurassic Lagoon (and Mosasaurus aquarium show) as well as Jurassic World Aviary (with Dimorphodon and Pteranodon inhabitants), in addition to retooled exhibits for returning dinosaur residents (such as an improved immersion-style paddock for Jurassic Park's original T-rex). For their newest attraction, Masrani commissioned Jurassic World's geneticists, led by Jurassic Park scientist, Henry Wu (B.D. Wong) to develop a hybrid creature - one that would be give both children and adult attendees nightmares.

Specifically, a bigger, scarier dinosaur with more teeth.

After experimentation with gene-splicing from a variety of animal sources (past and present), Jurassic World scientists cooked up a pair of mutant "dinosaurs" and named the newly created species Indominus rex. Shortly after, the older Indominus killed its younger sibling - and the hybrid dino was quarantined to a high-security paddock four miles from the main Jurassic World compound.

Nevertheless, as Masrani Global prepared to introduce the Indominus rex exhibit to parkgoers, even securing sponsorship from Verizon Wireless, the man-made dinosaur is revealed to possess dangerous abilities (inherited from its hybrid DNA sources) that undermine Jurassic World security measures. Jurassic World showcases several of Indominus rex's inherited traits but stops short of disclosing everything the mutant dinosaur could do - as well as which animals contributed to the creature's DNA. Nevertheless, thanks to pre-release details, interviews, and merchandise, we've been able to piece together most of the Indominus rex genome.